DUSTIN WAS WAITING outside of Jasper's house that morning, riding his bike in restless circles. "Finally!" he screeched, seeing the girl shut her front door and grab her bike to join him. "I've been waiting out here for at least 10 minutes," the curly-haired boy complained.

"Hey," Jasper said defensively. "It's not like I asked you to wait for me."

"No, but it's our code. It's what friends do," Dustin informed her. His furrowed eyebrows let Jasper know that he was being completely serious.

She shook her head, letting out a small giggle. "Well thank you, Dusty."

"No problem. C'mon! The others are probably halfway to school by now," Dustin kicked up the breaks of his bike, leading the way down the street.

"Where's Will?" Jasper questioned curiously, glancing over her shoulder at the empty road behind them. "He always rides to school with us in the morning."

Dustin scoffed. "Well he probably decided to go on his own since your ass took so long today!" he snapped, but the amusement in his eyes told Jasper he was only joking.

"I overslept," she told him with a small, careless shrug.

"Oh yeah. I bet you were getting all that beauty sleep when we could've been talking last night," Dustin taunted, snorting. "Did Ruby tell you to go to bed? And you actually listened to her?"

"Hell yeah I did. She already goes through enough on her own," Jasper murmured, picturing her sister sitting at the kitchen table, stressed out as she worked on paying the bills.

"I can't believe she works for the police now," Dustin breathed, a small ounce of admiration in his tone. "Working with that asshat Chief Hopper probably isn't fun."

"No," Jasper shook her head in agreement. "For a police chief he sure acts like one sketchy dude. Ruby invited him over for dinner once and he was really...weird to me."

"Damn. Ruby really is a badass for working with him," Dustin mumbled.

"Careful, Dusty," Jasper sniggered, throwing playful looks at him. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you have a crush on my sister."

"That's disgusting!" Dustin shouted, his eyes widening as he looked at Jasper. "She's almost twice my age!"

"No no," Jasper chuckled, shaking her head. "It makes sense. Nancy starts rejecting you, and you move on for the other older sister, eh?"

If they weren't riding bikes, Dustin probably would've slapped her on the arm. "Oh my God," he sighed in exasperation, earning a laugh from Jasper.

"Hey guys," Mike and Lucas join the two as they ride closer to the school.

"Where's Will?" Mike asks, noticing the absence of the shy boy from the group. "Doesn't he ride with you two in the mornings?"

"He's supposed to, yeah," Jasper answered, a small frown forming on her lips.

"That's weird," Mike mumbled, looking into the distance. "His mom called this morning looking for him. She said he probably just left for class early again."

"What the hell?" Jasper gasped, concern growing inside of her for their friend. "What if he didn't make it home last night?"

"Relax, Jas" Lucas hushed her, holding out his hand. "This is Hawkins. Nothing ever happens."

Jasper pondered on those words, recognizing them as the same ones Ruby had spoken to her last night. What if Hawkins was about to change? What if this small town suddenly started having big problems?

The four of them arrived at the school campus, riding over to the bike rack. They all searched anxiously for Will as they parked their bikes.

"That's weird," Mike uttered, his eyes darting around the moving crowd. "I don't see him."

"I'm telling you, his mom's right," Lucas spoke with confidence. The four started trekking towards the school building. "He probably just went to class early again."

Jasper walked beside Dustin as he spoke. "Yeah, he's always paranoid Gursky's gonna give him another pop quiz."

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen," another voice cut in. Troy and his idiotic friend walked up to them, sneering at the four. "Step right up and get your tickets for the freak show."

"Oh my God," Jasper rolled her eyes in annoyance, turning around to face the bullies. "Shove off, idiots."

Troy ignored her, stepping up to the three boys. "Who do you think would make more money in a freak show?" he began shoving each boy as he recited their nicknames.

"Midnight, Frogface, Toothless, and..." before his hand could touch Jasper, she grabbed him by the wrist and tightened her grip. Much to her satisfaction, a small wince formed on his face from the pain. "...Red," he managed to choke out the word.

"Leave us alone, Troy," Jasper spoke with a fiery passion, her eyes hardening into a glare. "It's amazing you even try making fun of me and my friends, considering you both know damn well that I can beat both of your sorry asses."

Troy pulled away from her grasp, looking her up and down before spitting at her shoes. "Nothing beats a redhead for a temper," he jabbed, but the fear in his eyes couldn't be covered. "It's a real shame. If you weren't such a bitch, you'd be kinda hot, Marrow."

"Don't you talk to her like that!" Dustin suddenly snapped, stomping over to the bully with blazing anger in his eyes. "She's not your toy!"

His focus shifted to curly-haired boy, ignoring his words. "Toothless, do the arm thing. Do it."

Dustin let out a sigh, dropping his backpack and handing his jacket to Jasper. With a sincere face, his arms lurched forward, followed by the sound of bones cracking.

The two bullies cowered away in disgust, groaning. "God, it gets me every time," Troy shuddered, pushing past the boys and steering clear of Jasper as he passed.

"Assholes," Lucas muttered in anger, watching them leave.

"I think it's kinda cool," Mike looked at Dustin, referring to his arm trick. "It's like you have superpowers or something."

Jasper bent over and grabbed Dustin's backpack while he put his jacket back on. "Like Mr. Fantastic?" Jasper suggested, raising an eyebrow.

He gratefully took the backpack from her. "Yeah, except I can't fight evil with it," he said, a tiny smirk etching onto his lips.

The day went by painstakingly slow, boring class after class, until it was the last hour of the day: science.

Jasper and the three boys all trailed into Mr. Clarke's classroom, ready for their first science lesson of the week. Jasper leaned forward in interest as he began teaching.

Mr. Clarke was a middle-aged man with an eccentric mustache and the same vest everyday. He had a passion for science, and it showed in his teaching. Out of all the teachers Jasper had, he was the only fun one. His class was something she always looked forward to.

She knew that the boys agreed. Mr. Clarke supervised their AV club, buying them the latest technology to surprise them. Today, the four would get to explore the new AV set that should have come in.

Jasper glanced over at Will's seat during the lesson, remembering it was empty. She frowned once again, silently hoping that he was okay. The idea of her friend getting hurt or being in danger worried her.

The bell sounded through the classroom, causing every kid to spring out of their seat in excitement.

"Remember, finish chapter 12 and answer 12.3 on the difference between an experiment and other forms of science investigation," Mr. Clarke continued rambling, even as kids filed out of his room. "This will be on the test which will cover 10 through 12."

His voice got softer as he watched his class leave the room entirely. "It will be multiple choice with an essay session..."

Dustin, Mike, and Lucas stood at Mr. Clarke's desk in anticipation, smiles on their faces. Jasper stood at her desk, taking her time to pack away her things. She laughed at the three boys, the sight of them reminding her of dogs begging for a treat.

"So, did it come?" Mike asked him, moving anxiously in his position.

"Sorry boys," Mr. Clarke murmured as Jasper finally joined them. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..."

All three boys looked at him sadly, their shoulders sinking in disappointment.

"It came!" Mr. Clarke gave them all a dubious smile, handing them the key to the AV room. "Lead the way!"

Jasper struggled to keep up with the boys as they raced down the hall to their precious AV club room. Mike fiddled with the lock before bursting through the door, revealing the Heathkit Ham Shack.

"Awesome!" Mike exhaled in amazement, sitting in the chair and fumbling with the knobs already. "Whoa."

"Ain't she a beaut?" Mr. Clarke smirked.

"Hey Jas," Dustin grabbed and pulled her closer to him, turning some of the knobs. "I bet you could talk to New York on this thing," he breathed, staring at the machine in wonder.

"Think bigger," Mr. Clarke said mischievously.

"California?" Lucas guessed.

"Bigger."

"Australia!" Jasper exclaimed with a giggle, placing the set of headphones on her head. Even she was intrigued by the device.

Mr. Clarke nodded, proving her answer to be right. This caused the boys to erupt into a chorus of gasps.

"Oh man, when Will sees this, he's totally gonna blow his shit!" Lucas declared with crazy hand gestures, clearly overexcited.

"Lucas," Mr. Clarke scolded, folding his arms.

"Sorry," Lucas apologized sheepishly, while Dustin and Jasper chuckled at his accidental curse.

Mike grabbed the microphone whilst Jasper continued playing around with the knobs, the static she could hear through the headphones slightly changing. "'Ello this is Mike Wheeler, president of the Hawkins Middle AV Club."

Dustin snatched the headphones off of Jasper's head, placing them on his own. "Dustin," Jasper gasped, spinning around and looking at him huge eyes. Her face softened when she saw the huge grin on his face. "What are you doing?"

He leaned forward into the microphone to speak, using a phony Australian accent as Mike had. "'Ello this is Dustin, and this is the secretary and treasurer of Hawkins Middle AV Club. Do you eat kangaroos for breakfast?"

"I'm pretty sure they don't," Jasper teased Dustin as Lucas pried the headphones off the boy's head.

Their fun was interrupted by a short knock at the door. The principal was standing at the front of the room, and past his shoulder was...Chief Hopper and Ruby?

Jasper stared at them with bulging eyes, her lips parted into an 'o' shape. Why was the chief and her sister here at school?

"Sorry to interrupt, but, uh, may I borrow Michael, Lucas, Dustin, and Jasper?" the principal asked kindly, but his facial expression betrayed him. Whatever it was, Jasper sensed that it was serious.

The three boys stared at the principal, gawking as they noticed Hopper and Ruby as well. Jasper walked out the room, shrugging past the principal and towards Hopper and her sister. "Hey kid," the chief greeted her, his eyes clouded by some unknown emotion as they met Jasper's.

"Hey," she replied coolly. "What's going on?" she asked, her question mainly directed at Ruby as they all began walking towards the office.

"It's about your friend Will," Ruby answered, her voice filled with dread. "He's missing, Jasper."

She said nothing else on the trip to the office, and she didn't have to. That alone sent enough shock and questions sparking through Jasper's head as she began to fret over Will.

They all sat down in the office, the chief taking a seat and beginning to interrogate them. Moments after the first question was asked, the three boys began chattering over one another.

Hopper looked at them in exhaustion, silencing them with a hand. "Okay, okay, okay. One at a time, all right? Jasper. He takes what?"

"He takes Mirkwood home," she responded quickly.

"Mirkwood?" Hopper repeated, sounding unsure.

"Yeah," Jasper confirmed with a nod.

"Have you ever heard of Mirkwood?" Hopper turned to Ruby for advisement.

"I have not, sir. It sounds made up to me," Ruby replied, her voice full of respect for the chief. She does her job well, for one thing.

"No, it's from Lord of the Rings," Lucas explained.

"Well, The Hobbit," Dustin corrected.

"It doesn't matter!" Lucas fired back, sounding irritated.

"He asked!" Dustin responded defensively.

"He asked!" Lucas echoed mockingly.

The three erupted into more bickering, causing Jasper to rest her head in her hands again. They were getting nowhere with the pointless arguing.

"Hey, hey, hey," the chief leaned forward, getting angrier by the second. "What did I just say? One. At a damn. Time. Jasper!"

"Mirkwood. It's a real road, it's just the name that's made up. it's where Cornwallis and Kerley meet," she told him truthfully.

He leaned back, grateful to finally have some answers. "Yeah, I think that I know that—"

"We can show it if you want!" Mike interrupted eagerly.

"I said that I know it!" the chief spat back.

"We can help look," Mike declared, sounding full of determination.

"Yeah," Dustin breathed, seeming to agree with the raven-haired boy.

Jasper's hand flew down on top of Dustin's, causing him to look at her in bewilderment. She shook her head slowly, mouthing the word 'no'. She knew that Hopper wouldn't agree to their proposals.

"No," Hopper stated, shutting the idea down just as Jasper predicted he would.

Mike and Lucas began to clamor, trying to persuade him of otherwise. But Dustin and Jasper sat quietly, watching the chief as he gave them instructions.

"After school, you are all to go home. Immediately. That means no biking around looking for your friend, no investigating, no nonsense," Hopper demanded. "This isn't some Lord of the Rings book."

"The Hobbit," Dustin mumbled.

"Shut up!" Lucas yelled at Dustin, causing the two boys to start shoving each other right over Mike.

Hopper leaned forward in his seat, glowering at the boys. Jasper had never seen him so serious before. And judging by the shellshocked look on Ruby's face, she hadn't either. "Do I make myself clear?"

"You betcha buddy," only Jasper responded, the three boys staring at him incredulously.

"Do I make myself clear?" he raised his voice, standing up and towering over them, eyes narrowing into two tiny slits.

"Yes sir," the boys answered, looking slightly afraid of him.

They all shared the same expression as they left school that day: despair. Their friend was missing, and he could be hurt. Will was gone and he might be somewhere that isn't safe. And what were they supposed to do?

Nothing.